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Exordium

As the sun went down behind Mars, the track lighting along the metal cage that surrounded the Pei Xiu flickered to life. A small shuttle dipped just below the horizon.

“Big ship,” the pilot said, glancing over to his passenger.

Asher Swain glanced over. He hadn’t been paying attention, and only just realized they were alone in the shuttle. “Mm, yeah. Big ship.” he said turning to look as the Nebula-class starship filled the window.

The pilot laughed. “Where did you say you were stationed before, Lieutenant?”

Fairly sure he hadn’t said anything about where he’d been assigned, or even what his name was, Asher exhaled and leaned back into his chair. “Transerfing from the George Washington.”

“Ah,” the pilot said, making a small maneuver to bring the shuttle behind the drydock. “Don’t know anything about her, but the PX isn’t too bad.”

“I am pretty excited about the opportunity to run my own department.”

“You’re science, right?”

Asher nodded. “The new chief of Stellar Cartography.”

“Mmm,” the pilot said. “I’m just a security grunt and occasional taxi driver.”

“I appreciate the lift.”

“No problem. So, what’s your name -- Lieutenant?”

“Asher Swain.”

“Kai Emaril -- I’d shake your hand, but we’re coming around to land and the autopilot is a bit finicky today. So, that guy with you at spacedock? Friend, boyfriend...”

“Friend,” Asher said a bit too quickly, before smiling. “Just a friend.”

“I see.”

After he’d disembarked, Asher found Kai waiting for him just outside the shuttle bay. “So, Lieutenant Swain -- big plans for your first night on the P-X?”

“Not really, no.”

“Well, they’re showing a holovid in the rec lounge at 1900 if you want to come. Maybe we can get drinks before or after. No pressure though.”

“Maybe, I don’t know. I have a lot of unpacking to do and I should read over the brief for our mission...”

Kai smiled. “Well, if you change your mind -- my quarters are on Deck 5, Section 12. Here --” He tapped the exact berth number into Asher’s datapadd before heading off in the opposite direction, leaving Asher to find his quarters alone.

Sifting through a duffle, Asher stopped at a slender, translucent rectangle -- a picture. He ran his hands over Arden’s face. “Just a friend,” Asher said, tucking the photo back into his duffle and turning to pick up the PADD with Kai’s address.